Fungicidal compounds of the class of N-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2,4-diones are described in, for instance, Dutch Patent Application No. 68,17249 (Sumitomo), in French Pat. No. 2,172,295 (BASF), and in Belgian Pat. No. 874,406 (Montedison S.p.A.).
Recently, there has also been described the bactericidal and fungicidal activity of some derivatives of aniline and glycine which carry on the nitrogen atom a variously substituted phenyl group and an acylic group of varying nature.
More particularly, this acylic group may consist of an .alpha.- or .beta.-haloalkanoyl (German Patent Applicaton No. DOS 2,513,789--Ciba-Geigy), or of an acetyl group substituted in .alpha.-position with a sulphur or oxygen atom in its turn bound to groups of varying nature (French Patent Application No. 7,510,722--Ciba Geigy) or again of a 2-furoyl, 2-thienoyl or pyridyl-2-carbonyl group (German Patent Application Nos. DOS 2,513,732 and 2,513,788--Ciba Geigy). Likewise, there has been described the microbicidal activity of methylalaninates carrying on the nitrogen atom a 2,6-dialkyl-phenyl and one of the following groups; cyclopropanyl, acryloyl, crotonyl (Swiss Patent Applications Nos. 4,988/74 and 2,906/75).
Other derivatives of fungicidal acyl-anilines have recently been described in Belgian Pat. No. 863,615 (Ciba-Geigy) and in German Patent Application No. DOS 2,745,633 (Chevron).
The interest in the search for new derivatives from acyl-anilines having fungicidal action originates from the exigency of finding acylaniline derivatives that will have a high fungicidal activity combined with a lack of phytotoxicity.
In fact, some of the already known products, although developing an excellent fungicidal activity, prove, however, to be also toxic for the plants that one wishes to protect against infections by fungi.
The damages caused by the phytotoxicity to the plants to be protected can hardly be avoided by using a dose of a fungicidal compound that may be the best compromise between the fungicidal activity of the compound and its phytotoxicity.
In fact, in the practical application in agricultural cultivations, the quantity of product that actually remains on the plant varies considerably depending on various factors such as, for instance, the weather conditions, (particularly the frequency of rainfalls), and the correctness and frequency of the applications carried out by the farmer.